Death Star
by Wolfwum
Summary: The remaining humans of Earth dodged their former friends and past loved ones, it wasn't the softskinned humans who ruled the planet anymore. Now, it was robots that reigned under the rule of Dr. Nefarious. ABANDONED
1. Vengence

**2136- October, 2005**

"_Hey, Kellie, it's Caren. Yeah, I was just wondering if you'd noticed the space junk blocking Rigel? Yeah, the huge, round-looking thing. No, I have no idea where it came from; it just appeared from another galaxy or something. Do you think we should have George Lucas check it out? Hee, hee. Okay, it's old, but I'm bored up here! My boss expects me to be awake for every single new development that the stars don't throw at us._

"_Anyway, oh! It's closer now. It's bigger, too. You see that? It looks like a… uh… one of those things from _Star Wars_ they were either building or destroying. Is that live lava on it? Naw… has to be a reflection or something. Are you watching this? Can you believe it? What do you think it is?_

"_Hang on… Kellie, what happened when the _Star Wars_ thing made it to a planet and charged up enough power? Didn't it destroy the planet?"_

**Two Years Later**

Tara hated this hiding. She was one of the lucky ones, not having to lurk in the alleys or gutters nor having only rags as clothes. Her family, though all turned robots themselves by the infamous "Death Star" years earlier, hadn't given in to the mind control placed upon them by Dr. Nefarious, either. Tara's mother sometimes compared her to Anne Frank- a teenager having to keep out of sight of people who want to destroy her. Tara would often say to her mom, "Why doesn't someone just kill him? Rip out all of his wires?"

Her mom would answer, "It isn't that simple. Dr. Nefarious and the robots he's created are far more complex that what humans used to create. He's advanced our technology many years beyond what it used to be."

Her parents worked with other robots that were loyal to Dr. Nefarious; they had to be careful about what they said around co-workers. Just a slip and Tara would end up as a "Squishy Slave," as organic beings were referred to. Or worse, if he was in a robot-making mood. So, Tara was hidden, making sure that no harm came to her. But she was restless. She dreamt nightly about killing Dr. Nefarious and freeing Earth. She talked about it constantly; it was talk that made Tara's parents very nervous. While she waited every day, she studied fighting on the internet, wondering if it would be enough to overcome him. 

"Maybe we should let her..."

"No! I am NOT going to allow her to suffer what we went through. Besides if my daughter becomes a robot, she may not be against him!"

Tara's dad sighed. "Okay, Lynn. But what if she _doesn't_ fail?" Her mom was silent. "Tara is eighteen. Under the old laws, that was old enough for you to decide what to do for yourself. She's an adult." Her mom began to sob. "I say, let her go. We may see her again, you never know. At least someone is _trying_, Lynn."

Tara crept into the room. Her parents looked up at their daughter, still fleshy and whole. Her mother had to relent. Tara would eventually go crazy if she had to stay in the house for the rest of her life. As much as she hated to think about it, Lynn wanted her child to get a chance at a life that wasn't filled with fear- even if it cost her her life.

"Mom," Tara said. "I _will_ get rid of Dr. Nefarious. I can't waste my energy waiting on a hero who'll never come." She took in a deep breath and prayed that they wouldn't lock her in her room. "I'm going to do it tomorrow."

Her dad half-smiled, got up, and walked over to a drawer. He got out a pen-sized rod and a belt device. "The belt device is a Hologuise. No one will know you're a human while you wear that," he said. Tara took it and pressed a button on the rod. A hot, orange beam shot out of it like a light saber. Both she and he smiled at it.

"We're working on a way to mass-market these things," her dad said sadly. "It's so that when Dr. Nefarious brings Gadgetron to Earth, we can sell them like switchblades throughout the Solana Galaxy."

The citizens of Earth, on top of being turned into robots, had been surprised to find out that their planet was located on the far reaches of, not the Milky Way galaxy, but the Solana. Dr. Nefarious made that extremely clear when he shut down NASA (now _Nefarious'_ Aeronautical and Space Administration) and gave a _very_ long speech on the stupidity of organic beings. Tara had been in attendance, as had many of the others who'd escaped the beam. Nefarious' rant only fueled her hatred of him, and it encouraged her to seek a means of destroying him. And now, she had the tools to pull it off.

-----------------

Tara left before dawn. Sneaking out the back door, she was given a good luck sendoff before edging down the alleyway. The autumn darkness hid her enough until she was far away enough to equip the Hologuise. The belt device hummed on her side as the illusion conformed to her shape. When it had completely enveloped her, Tara strode up to Nefarious' palace. She walked through the gates for there weren't any guards. _He's very confident, isn't he?_ She approached the front doors and opened them.

Inside, the bustling of a thousand robots announced the growing empire that Nefarious ruled. Tara walked around the antechamber, looking for a hint as to where her target was. Finally, she saw his butler, Lawrence, strutting around. She eased behind him and followed his path. As they passed, other robots moved aside for Lawrence. Some said good day or hello, and others wished longevity to Dr. Nefarious. Lawrence acknowledged them with only a nod. He looked straight ahead, and he ignored most of the workers. Tara gazed at her former friends and neighbors. _Is this what you have been reduced to? You all are not only working under Nefarious' tyranny, but also his arrogance?_

"Excuse me, madam." Tara froze. She'd been too busy raging to notice that Lawrence had seen her. "Are you lost?"


	2. Squishy

_I couldn't ignore anymore reviews. Here's the next chapter, and the third is... coming. **Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters except for Tara. Insomniac owns_ Ratchet and Clank. _(Sorry, I couldn't resist the sci-fi reference in here!)_

**1022- October 2007**

Tara froze as Lawrence's stare combed through her. She tried her best to remain calm as he silently waited for her answer. 'What am I doing here? Killing Nefarious and freeing Earth,' she thought, 'But I'm not telling him that.'

"I-I… want to get a job- here at the palace," she finally said.

Lawrence didn't change his expression. "That's a splendid idea, except we have more than enough employees already. Why don't you try somewhere else."

Tara gulped. Her father had come home complaining of how understaffed his department was many times. "Well… I've never been off of Earth. Since the Dea- the Reformation, my interest in escaping this planet's boundaries has increased. So I want to help map out the galaxy, what's left to be mapped, and to help further atta- Reformations, all in the name of Dr. Nefarious." In truth, she had wanted to explore more of the universe even before the Death Star.

Lawrence considered her. After a moment, he turned and started walking. "If you want to do that, follow me." Tara started and hurried after him.

They walked through the maze of corridors, turning left, turning right, going upstairs, and walking downstairs. Tara became nervous with every minute that passed by. Every second she was in the palace, she risked being found out before she could achieve what she came to do. Her breathing quickened slightly. Lawrence led her through one of the basement doors. Shouting resounded around the walls and Tara gasped as she realized that she was in the slave pit. Compared to the thousands of robots on Earth, the humans numbered few. Grouped together, they would probably fill a room the size of a football field. Except this room was a little bit smaller, so they bumped into each other every so often. Lawrence smirked as he passed through the pit. Tara fell behind him as she stared at the squishy slaves. She caught up with Lawrence.

"What are they doing in there?" she asked, trying to hide her disgust and astonishment. "What work do they do?"

"The squishies are our janitorial service, laborers, cooks, although I generally make it a point to accept food only from other robots, and what ever else can be thought of," he replied. "I would think you would know that, Miss...?"

Her mind jerked. Despite all of her planning, training, and thinking, Tara had never thought of an alias. She stopped, her mouth opening and closing silently. Lawrence looked expectantly at her.

"T-Tara," she finally stammered out. Tara bit her lip. It could have been any name, why her own?

"Well, Tara," Lawrence said, "I think we can find a place for you under Dr. Nefarious."

Really? "Really?" she asked.

"Yes. In fact, we can inform him right now."

Tara looked past Lawrence to see a tall, skinny robot approach. His tall head set him apart from the rest; this was Dr. Nefarious, who's defeat would free the citizens of Earth. Tara's eyes narrowed as he came closer. Lawrence strode up to him and muttered to him. He looked from Lawrence to Tara. Dr. Nefarious nodded and walked over to her.

"So," he said in his grating voice, "I hear you want to take a job in the palace. One that involves seeking out new worlds and new civilizations and all that crap." Tara nodded. Nefarious walked around her. "You know what taking this job means, right? Giving up your home here, never seeing your family again, putting your whole life into my command." He returned in front of her. "Can you do that, Tara?"

"I think I can manage."

"Good. Lawrence will show you to your room in a minute. I have to discuss something with him. Come, Lawrence." Lawrence started after him.

Tara let her face drop. Her mouth tasted sour after saying all of that, nicely, to Dr. Nefarious. She glanced down the hallway. He and Lawrence weren't that far down it. Tara reached to her belt for her switchblade beam, hiding it in her palm. She wasn't going to get another chance like this: Nefarious had his back turned and Lawrence was focused down another hall. Tara quickly came up behind Nefarious, drew the switchblade, threw her arm back, and plunged.

Tara's attack connected with air, and she had no time to react before Nefarious grabbed her wrist tightly, making her drop the beam. He threw her against the wall and held her there, taking off the Hologuise. Finally, they could see the human Tara struggling against cold, metal hands. Nefarious shook his head.

"Whaen will you squishies learn? You are all inferior to robots, and there is no way that will change!" He laughed hard, making sparks fly from his head. "You were never going to get a job here, anyway. We could see through your feeble disguise immediately." Tara stopped struggling. How? He laughed and continued. "Not robot in their right mind comes to the palace and asks for a job! All of the jobs were given out when I moved in. Also," he leered, "there are no jobs on spaceships for Earth robots. It is possible for them to break free of my control, and I don't need a rouge flying around out there, going for help..." He made a face and didn't speak for a few seconds. It took a small prompting from Lawrence to get him back on track. "In any case, we still have an opening for you- in the squishy pit!"

Nefarious laughed hysterically, tossing Tara toward a guard. "So, what am I going to do with you, Squishy? Do you clean, work, cook?" Nefarious asked.

Tara smiled dryly. "I dethrone tyrants and return peace to planets," she answered. Nefarious laughed even harder at this.

"And how do you plan to do that when you're at _my _mercy?" He chuckled again, and Lawrence sighed. "Guard, just get rid of her."

The robot siezed Tara's arm, crushing it in his grasp. Tara gritted her teeth against the pain as she was made to face Nefarious and kneel. As the guard pointed a gun to her back and waited for Nefarious to give him the signal, she smiled and said, "Just because you kill me, it doesn't mean others won't try." She sat back, closed her eyes and waited.

"Stop." Tara opened her eyes, not believing what she'd heard. The guard also seemed confused. He still held his gun up, just in case Dr. Nefarious changed his mind. "Don't shoot her."

"Sir, are you sure that you want to let this squishy live?" Lawrence asked. "It'll ruin your reputation. _Supervillain Weekly_ would say you've gone soft."

"I haven't gone soft, Lawrence!" Nefarious roared. "I just don't need her to be a martyr for the other squishies."

Lawrence was speechless. In all the years of his service to Dr. Nefarious, this was one of the rare occasions when he did a smart thing. "So what are you going to do with her? Put her in the pit and she'll start a rebellion."

Nefarious faced Tara again. He smiled wickedly. She scowled coldly back. "You said you wanted to see the galaxy? Well, you might be able to- as a slave on my ship!"


	3. Slave

**1355- November, 2007**

The streets of the capitol were crowded with robots. They gathered for the departure of their leader and wished him farewell in his endeavors. Tara's parents were among the crowd. They bit back spiteful words that they had wanted to spew at Dr. Nefarious for days. Tara was gone, dead as far as they knew, and Dr. Nefarious was leaving on another conquest as if nothing had happened. _He probably kills hundreds of humans a day and doesn't think anything of it_, Tara's mom thought. The other, brainwashed robots cheered as Nefarious paraded past them, leading the way to his ship. Deep inside the ship, Tara waited for Nefarious, held captive on the bridge by Lawrence.

_This is taking forever!_ She sighed. She watched the robotic assembly roar and cheer as Nefarious finally made it up the ramp. "Remember, robots of Earth!" she heard him yell, "You owe your loyalty to Dr. Nefarious!" His followers sent him off with another wave of cheers. Nefarious made it to the bridge as the thrusters started. The huge ship lifted off of the launch circle, rising higher into the atmosphere. Tara's parents had one last look at it before the speck disappeared into space.

As the blue planet shrank, Dr. Nefarious pushed a few buttons on the console.

"The coordinates are set for our next stop!" he announced, rubbing his hands together. He sat back in his chair and imagined the new population of robots he would soon have at his command. "Soon, no more squishies in the galaxy!

"Yes, yes," Lawrence said, getting right to work on dusting the consoles. "Third time's the charm, sir." Whether Nefarious took any notice of the jab, he didn't show it. He just continued to rub his palms together, chuckling. Tara sighed, and suddenly Nefarious came out of his happy place.

"You!" he pointed. Tara looked at him impassively

"Me?" she replied.

Nefarious growled at not getting a rise out of her. "I'm going to make your life miserable, squishy! You're going to clean, cook, do whatever I say. Lick my boots!" he cried. Tara raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Lick- my- boots," he repeated. "Now."

Slowly, Tara bent down and held her tongue near Nefarious' feet, her face burning. She was about to make contact when he struck her. She sprawled across the floor, clutching her head. Nefarious and Lawrence laughed. "Never touch me with your bare skin, you filthy thing," Nefarious warned. "Try again, and the punishment will be more than that. Lawrence, show her to her quarters and then get her started."

Lawrence led her to a dingy room, far from the bridge. The only furniture in it was a thin, worn mattress. Perhaps the one asset to the room was the small window in the far wall. Tara walked toward it. She watched the stars move past the ship like trees by the highway. _Space..._ she thought. _This is it._

She didn't have time to wonder over it, though. As soon as Lawrence had shown her where her quarters were, he set her to work cleaning the obscure parts of the ship. If Nefarious or Lawrence happened to pass by on an errand, they rewarded her efforts with a kick. _I wonder if the American slaves had it so well, _she thought.

Throughout her first month of enslavement, Tara said nothing unless she was spoken to, and she didn't cry out when she was hit. She worked hard and quickly, hoping to steal some time in her room to look at the stars. They looked so different from space.

In the first month, Nefarious had attacked three more planets, all of which had been as unprepared as Earth. They were all more technologically advanced than Earth had been, but they were still no match for the Death Star, the Bio-Obliterator. After the Earth attack, Nefarious had spent the two years upgrading and fixing his machine. The next attack went without a hitch; this time, no organic life forms were left on the planet.

Tara watched these attacks from the ship. She cursed Nefarious, Lawrence, herself, sometimes her parents. She tried to convince herself that they hadn't been as in control as liked to think they were, but she couldn't think about her family this way. Nefarious usually spent at least a week on the planet he just conquered to recharge the Bio-Obliterator, and to have his ego stroked by the new robot population. Tara was never allowed out. Lawrence found things for her to do all day, even if it meant cleaning the same window fifty times in a row. Tara overheard Nefarious and Lawrence talking a few days after the third planet was attacked:

"They haven't noticed the attacks. Of course, who would care about the measly outer planets of the Solana?"

"By the time you've finally managed a large enough army, they won't have a chance against you, sir."

"Yes, we'll blow them out of the galaxy!"

"Just like they did to you before. Tea, sir?"

"Hmmm... That's right. I haven't forgotten about our last encounter with those squishies..."

Tara walked in, rag in hand. She flicked her eyes toward Nefarious and Lawrence and began polishing the controls. They stopped talking and watched her. She silently cleaned, waiting for one of them to hit her or insult her. They remained quiet. Tara moved so that she could see them. Lawrence had gone. Nefarious was watching her closely, observing her. Neither said a word until she finished. As Tara started to walk out of the bridge, Nefarious said, "You don't talk anymore, squishy?"

Tara looked at him. "I have no reason to talk, just like I have no reason to live. Congratulations: you conquered Earth. For the thousands of years humans inhabited it, no one was able to do that." She turned.

"Are you angrier at me for turning your family into robots, or angrier at yourself for not being able to kill me?"

Tara stopped. Nefarious' expression grew smug. She half-turned but stormed off, glad to have more chores to do. Nefarious grinned, glad to have finally gotten a rise out of his slave.


	4. Phoenix

_ALL RIGHT! Chapter 4 at last! Sorry about infrequent updates, but I have other stuff to do, like homework. ANYHOO- I don't own the cleverness of Ratchet and Clank, nor do I own Dr. Nefarious. Kudos to Insomniac for creating such an awesome villain._

**0600**

'What month is it?' Tara thought. 'December, January?' She stopped working and leaned on her mop, gazing out of the picture windows. 'January. My birthday's in a few weeks... I hope.'

Nefarious' ship was temporarily docked at the Flatir Starport, his newest acquisition. Nefarious took it two weeks ago, but had decided to take a vacation on the tropical planet. He was probably stretched out under the sun right now, Lawrence handing him a fruit drink. Tara nearly fell over as the tantalizing picture of a beach played in her mind. She sighed and dipped the mop into the water bucket again.

Since her last encounter with Nefarious, Tara had taken to avoiding him if at all possible. She hated him, yes, more than she hated being a slave. Yet his question nagged at her: "Are you angrier at me or at yourself for not killing me?"

"You!" she yelled, sliding a bit across the wet floor. "You, you! You destroyed my planet!"

She hurled the mop at the wall. The clatter echoed around the empty hallways, making the regular beeps from the next room louder as they faded. Tara walked onto the bridge. It was smaller without Nefarious' head, but definitely more peceful. She moved to the nearest console; having been around for a few months, she'd picked up on where the communication button was. It flickered right next to the red, shiny self-destruct button.

'What an idiot.'

Tara tapped the button for a second, hesitant on whether to send a message or not. She wasn't sure how many light-years she'd come from Earth or how far it would go. 'Whatever,' she thought as she held it down.

"Hey," she began. "I-if anyone's out there... or someone who doesn't like Dr. Nefarious, at least..." Tara took a deep breath. "I think I could really use your help."

--------------------------------------------------

On the other side of the Solana, a wave of interference fuzzed across the computer screen a tiny robot was studying. Normally, he would pass it off as electromagnetic radiation. However, the frequency wasn't obscure and infrequent like sunspots. He focused on it, piecing it together until the message came through, if faint: "... my planet, Earth, was attacked by Nefarious' huge 'Death Star' and almost everyone was turned into a robot. I wasn't and I tried to kill him not too long ago. It didn't go so well..."

At that, the robot rapidly typed on the keyboard, getting a lock on the coordinates. He hopped up from his chair and quickly ran down the hallway, passing full-sized soldier-bots and passengers of the Starship Phoenix. Finally, he arrived at the conference room, where a weighty meeting was going on.

"Okay now!" the ever egoitistic Qwark, yelled. "It's almost time for the annual Q-Force Inspection! I expect to see all of you in here Monday morning in your regulation green tights!"

The others attending were less enthusiastic about the subject. Sasha, the mayor of Metropolis, here to inspect her former ship, was staring at the wall behind the giant green bratwurst. Every now and then, she glanced bemusedly at the Lombax asleep on her shoulder. Around the table, others showed similar signs of boredom: Helga tugged at her pigtails; Skidd McMarxx fiddled with his visor and rocked back and forth as if he was on a hoverboard; Al and Skrunch played rock-paper-scissors, all unnoticed by their "leader". The robot slipped into the room and ran over to Lombax.

"Ratchet! Ratchet!" he said, shaking him.

Ratchet woke with a start. "Clank?" He looked down at his longtime friend. "What is it?"

"I have just recieved a long-distance communications from the other side of the Solana."

"So? Who sent it?"

"A distressed female who sounded like she was on Dr. Nefarious' ship! She kept talking about a 'Death Star' or something."

"Well, I don't know what a Death Star is, but Nefarious back means trouble for the galaxy." Ratchet pushed his chair back and followed Clank to the door.

"Hey, wait a minute! Where do you think you're going, Ratchet? We haven't finished the agenda yet!" Qwark brandished the twelve foot long schedule at them. Only the first five items had been crossed out in green crayon. Ratchet rolled his eyes.

"I have more important things to do right now, Qwark." His exit prompted the others to help him.

--------------------------------------------------

The message was replaying by the time they got back to the computer. Clank sent it to the beginning. As they all listened to the cry for help, they went back to the last time Nefarious had attacked. Skidd had been turned into a robot by the Bio-Obliterator, and Nefarious had attacked the Phoenix itself. He'd scared Qwark into "dying", although there were plenty of things that could do that. All in all, he was a villain with an excess of bark, but with enough bite to back it up.

"Woah." Skidd was the first to break the silence after the recording finished. "I hadn't- uhm- realized... uh..."

"None of us thought he would do something like this," Clank said. He typed on the keyboard, following the source.

"I mean, I knew he was determined, but to go this far..." Ratchet shook his head. "We have to stop him."

"What do you think I am doing? We cannot stop him if we do not know where he is." The computer beeped. "But it seems that he is attacking the perimeter of the galaxy first, where it is less likely to be noticed." He pressed a button. A staticy picture of a ship's bridge came into focus. No one was there that they could see. "Hello?" Clank called.

On the other side of the galaxy, Tara jumped and ran back to the bridge.


	5. Trusts

_"I've been up late writing books/ All about heroes and crooks/ One of 'em saves you from this/ The other one steals you/ And all sure things fall/ And all sure things fall" -Yellowcard: Sure Thing Falling_

_Chapter 5, I'm still alive! Thanks for your patience guys, and keep the Yellowcard lyrics in mind as you read the next few chapters, 'k? As always, kudos to Insomniac Games for their awesome series. (By the way, this fic is after_ Deadlocked.)

**0922- January, 2008 **

Having been aboard his ship for months, Tara had learned to deny herself anything wonderful that came about. So as she rushed back to the bridge, her mind was already pushing away the possibility of rescue. 'It's only an update… that message couldn't have gotten anywhere...' She held back at the door, peeking in to see who was calling. Heart racing, Tara glanced at the screen.

"Hello?" A confused robot swiveled his head around, searching for life. Tara let her breath out.

'Exactly. Just another ambassador calling for Nefarious.' She slipped in to take a message. Nefarious would punish her if she failed.

"Dr. Nefarious isn't in," she said back. The robot's eyes focused on her suddenly and became wide. "What do you want?"

The caller paused for a second. "You- you're not a robot." His mouth twitched in an way that reminded her of concealed laughter. Tara fought to restrain herself.

"No," she replied though gritted teeth, "I'm not. Now, what is your business with Dr. Nefarious?"

The robot continued to look her up and down. "How did you manage this? He _did_ attack the planet you're from, right?" He closed in on the screen, squinting. "Are you all right?"

Tara quickly reached up to her face to wipe away the two years of mourning beginning to drip down. The questions were getting too personal for her, slave or not. Disguising her distress, she looked him in the face and said, "Look, if you don't have anything for Nefarious, go away."

Before he could ask anything else, Tara turned off the link. She sunk down behind the console and shook. 'Damn robots, mocking the squishies still out there.' She had to take several deep breaths before she could regain her composure and stand. Tara had tried not to think about Earth in the last three months, or even in the last two years. The only thought on her mind when she discovered her family's fate was revenge on Nefarious, and she'd failed them at that. She turned to walk out of the bridge yet again when another call came in. Tara sighed and stopped.

"I already told you, Nefarious isn't in," she snapped.

"Well, good. I don't want to talk to him." This new, casual voice made Tara swing around. There was a sharper picture this time; the robot was still there, but he was surrounded by organic life forms. The one who addressed Tara continued. "Hey. I'm Ratchet. My little buddy over there you turned off is called Clank." His hard, understanding green eyes glared at her. "Not all robots are with Nefarious. I get that that may be hard for you to understand at first, but know that Clank's on your side."

Tara had to grip the console to keep standing. "Can you really help me? Who're all them?"

Ratchet turned to his teammates. "That's Helga, Skidd McMarxx, Sasha- the mayor of Metropolis, Al, and Skrunch, the monkey."

"What're you all doing that's more important than the Q-Force Inspection?" Tara balked as Qwark burst into the room, slamming Al behind one of the doors. He looked at them before glancing at the screen. "Yeowzers! Ahem, uh, I mean, and who might you be?"

Tara ignored him and looked at Ratchet. "Q-Force... Does that mean you can help me kill Nefarious?"

"Whoah, she sure does have ambitions, dunnit she?" Skidd said. Al wedged himself out and rejoined the group.

"We'll help you, Tara" Ratchet announced. "I'll get someone out there ahead of the Phoenix- that's this ship, best in the Galactic Fleet." He smiled as he bragged. "We're on the other side of the galaxy right now, so it'll take a week or two for the Phoenix to get there, granted we don't run into trouble."

"Thank you, so much." Tara didn't want them to go, though, to make sure they weren't a prank by Nefarious; he wasn't above such cruelty.

"No problem," came the reply before the link terminated.

--------------------------------------------------

**1130- Starship Phoenix**

"So." The Q-Force were back in the conference room, ready to be briefed. Ratchet stood at the head of the table, Clank at his right hand. Qwark was unusually silent; his head was rested on his hands and his mind was elsewhere with other people. Ratchet took a deep breath and began. "All right guys, we've faced this enemy before. We know what we're up against-"

"Except that Nefarious now has a better Bio-Obliterator and several planets of robots that he can call upon to fight for him," Clank interrupted.

Ratchet grinded his teeth. He needed to rally his troops, not scare them away. "Thank you, Clank. Anyway, I've called the Galactic Rangers, and they say they're on their way. Now we have to decide who's going ahead of the Phoenix."

The entire room seemed to sink lower. Skrunch scrambled up Qwark's head and hid behind it. Sasha looked at her boyfriend.

"Well, I can't go. I have to get Metropolis ready for- another- possible attack. And I have to alert the President."

"Understood. Qwark-"

Everyone's eyes flew open, pleading with Ratchet not to send him. Qwark, also put on the spot, quickly cut him off, "I- I- can't go! My- I- uh..."

"Right. I was actually going to say that you were _not_ going."

They all let out a huge sigh. "Well, that's a sacrifice I'll make, then." He smiled. "So who is the lucky devil who gets to go?"

"Helga has to stay to train new recruits; Skidd... I'm keeping you as far away from Nefarious as I can for now. There's no need to repeat last time."

"That's fine with me, man. So, you're going ahead, Ratchet?" Even Clank was shocked when he shook his head. They'd been through four adventures together so far, why was he turning down the chance to blow things up?

"I have to command the Phoenix across the galaxy. I'm in charge of it now, remember? I'll have more than enough to do on this side while Al's getting the inside on Nefarious."

Al looked up at his name. He was used to being bored at meetings, unless someone needed something decoded or fixed. Often, he thought about going back to Metropolis and reopening his shop. The Q-Force didn't need a useless guy like him. But when everyone congratulated him as they left, he caught Ratchet as he was leaving.

"Wait, Ratchet! I'm supposed to what?"

"You're going to Nefarious' ship ahead of us to tell us what's different, what his weakness is this time around." Ratchet patted him on the shoulder. "Look, I know you're not used to field work, but this will help stop Nefarious forever. You're taking on a great mission, Al, thanks."

He walked away, leaving a confused, bewildered Al. "You're welcome?"


End file.
